TOTEMS AND TATTOOS
AUTHOR: Fred Willman
GRADE LEVEL: 7th Grade
TIME: 1 class period
FORMAT: drawing and writing
MATERIALS
BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE NEEDED: none
OBJECTIVES
GEOGRAPHY STANDARDS AND SKILLS
Essential Element 4 – Human Systems
Geography Standard 10 – The Characteristics, distribution, and complexity of Earth’s Cultural Mosaics
Knowledge Statement 2 – How to read elements of the landscape as a mirror of culture
5-8 Skill Set 3 – Organization
Skill #4 – Integrate various types of materials to organize geographic information.
OPENING THE LESSON: Students read about the history and purpose of totem poles and tattoos. They see examples of both produced by Northwest Coast Native Americans (totem poles) and by cultures in Oceania (tattoos).
DEVELOPING THE LESSON: Students design their own totem pole or tattoo which represents themselves, their family, or some important event or story in their lives. This design is drawn on paper. They also create a written explanation of their totem pole or tattoo telling what all the symbols mean.
CONCLUDING THE LESSON: Students present their drawings and written explanations to each other in groups of four. The best presentations as determined by the students in each group are presented to the whole class and/or posted on a bulletin board for all to see.
TOTEM POLES
Totem Poles were created by Indian tribes who lived along the northwest coast of North America. 43 tribes created them, but seven tribes in particular made them first and made them the most. These tribes were the Tsimshian (pronounced Shim’ shan), the Haida (pronounced Hy’ da), the Tlingit (pronounced Kling’ git), the Nooksak, the Nootka, the Coast Salish, and the Kwaikiutl (pronounced Kwy’ kee oo’ tul). All seven tribes still exist today and still make totem poles, as do several other tribes in British Columbia and southeast Alaska.
Totem poles were made for one of several reasons. Generally, they were made by tribes to establish their cultural identity. It was a way for tribes to announce, "We are here, and this is who we are." Each tribe’s totem poles looked different. Some were painted and some were not. They were not made as religious objects by any of these coastal Indians. But some inland Indian tribes such as the Ojibwa (the Chippewa) learned how to make totems from the coastal tribes and did attach religious meaning to the poles. Coastal Indians did not worship the poles or the symbols on them, although they did worship the spirits of the real animals shown on their totem poles. Totem poles were allowed to rot and fall apart. No attempt was made to protect or preserve them. They usually lasted 40 to 50 years before rotting and falling down.
Some totems were made as memorials poles to honor a person. Some were story poles to help people remember an important or exciting story. There were welcoming poles, house frontal poles and house portal poles to welcome people to a village or to a tribal longhouse. There were mortuary poles to honor someone who died. There were even shame poles to ridicule or poke fun at someone for doing something wrong. Some totem poles were meant to be serious. But, others were intended to be funny, private, or critical.
Although totem poles are still made today and have been made for well over 200 years, the "golden age" of totem poles was from 1840 to 1900. During this time the Indians were not being pushed off of their land much by whites. But, whites had come to explore and exploit the rich environment. They introduced more modern tools to the Indians which allowed them to make larger poles much faster and easier. A steel tool called an adz and paint were the two contributions that most changed totem pole design, production, and size. Before the introduction of the adz from whalers who brought the tool to the Indians from the south Pacific islands, totems were much smaller because they took so long to make.
The reason the Indians along the northwest coast made totem poles is because they had plenty of trees from which to make them, and because they had enough free time to do so. The reason for the free time was the abundant natural resources in their environment and the invigorating, moderate climate that seldom got too hot in the summer or too cold in the winter, and provided very abundant rainfall for plants and animals. The tribes of this narrow coastal region seldom experienced warfare because they were so wealthy compared to other Indian tribes, they simply did not need to fight for land or resources. Living space was limited due to the mountainous landscape. This kept tribes apart from each other and populations low enough to not overuse the natural resources.
Almost all the figures on totem poles are figures of animals. These animals represent clans within the tribe. Animals were chosen because they were the other living things the Indians saw in their daily life, besides each other. They could have used other symbols in their totem poles such as people, plants, or physical features. But, animals became traditional because the people’s daily lives were centered so much around hunting them for tribal survival.
Your Task
Create a totem pole by drawing it on paper and coloring it with colored pencils. You can use any symbols you want on your totem. You are not limited to animal figures. Your pole should be made to represent any one of the following topics: 1. Yourself (your life or personality); 2. Your family (family members or family history); 3. A story about you or your family (the symbols represent major events in the story). Your totem pole should have at least five symbols on it.
After your totem pole is drawn, you need to explain what the symbols on it represent and why you chose those symbols. If your totem pole tells a story, you need to write the story and explain the meaning of the symbols you used. This explanation should be a page long and should be either typed or written in ink.
Half of your grade is based upon your drawing and half is based upon the quality and quantity of your written explanation, including capitalization, grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Your drawing should be neat, clear, colorful, and contain at least five symbols. Your written description should be neat, complete, clear, detailed, and well written.
TATTOOS
Tattoos have become much more popular and acceptable in the United States over the last few years. Both men and women wear them in many different sizes and shapes all over the body. But tattoos did not originate in either the United States or Europe. They are thought to have spread first to Europe and then the United States from islands in the South Pacific such as New Zealand and the Marquesas Islands. European whalers in their search for whales came across Polynesians wearing tattoos. They had tattoos inscribed on their own bodies and became human billboards as they traveled throughout the world.
But, other people in the world were tattooing themselves even before they were discovered in Polynesia by whalers. Some mummy’s uncovered by archeologists in ancient Egypt had tattoos on them. In Japan and Burma (Myanmar) some men have extensive, elaborate tattoos all over their bodies. On New Guinea women wear tattoos as signs of beauty. Several African cultures also wear tattoos or practice scarification, which is the intentional scarring of the skin in bumps, which form patterns on a person’s body.
Almost all Americans wear tattoos for strictly cosmetic or personal reasons – they think they are attractive, unusual, or daring. But, some cultures attached deeper ritualistic meanings toward getting tattoos. The native people of New Zealand, the Maoris (pronounced Maow’ rees), wore them in elaborate patterns on their faces to frighten enemies during wars. They also wore elaborate patterns of them on the lower torso and upper legs of their bodies as signs of manhood or bravery following adolescence or after certain accomplishments in their lives.
Your Task
Create a tattoo design by drawing it on paper and coloring it in different colors of ink, if you wish. You can use any words or drawings you want on your tattoo, but your tattoo must be much more than just a list of names. You can make your tattoo design from objects, or patterns, or both. Your tattoo should be made to represent any one of the following topics: 1. Yourself (your life or personality); 2. Your family (family members or family history); 3. A story or event about you or your family (the symbols represent major events in the story or event). Your tattoo design should have at least five symbols in it. You are to make one continuous design, not several small designs. You do not need to explain where the tattoo would be placed on your body or how large it would be.
After your tattoo design is drawn, you need to explain what the symbols on it represent and why you chose those symbols. If your tattoo tells a story, you need to write the story and explain the meaning of the symbols you used. This explanation should be a page long and should be either typed or written in ink.
Half of your grade is based upon your drawing and half is based upon the quality and quantity of your written explanation, including capitalization, grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Your drawing should be neat, clear, colorful, and contain at least five symbols. Your written description should be neat, complete, clear, detailed, and well written.